Many Decatur Township residents are fighting an uphill battle as they try to prevent a data center from being their new neighbor.
Sabey Data Centers wants to build its largest data hub yet on roughly 130 acres near Kentucky Avenue and Camby Road on the southwest side of Indianapolis. Since the land is already zoned industrial for the previously proposed Decatur Technology Park, Sabey’s proposal won’t be voted on by City-County Councilors — a big distinction between this data center proposal and the one proposed last year in Franklin Township.
Some residents continue to fight against the data center altogether, while others are working toward finding common ground.
“If this passes, then it’s too late at that point to get any sort of concessions or protections,” said City-County Councilor Josh Bain during a video of a recent community town hall. “The best way that I feel like I can serve this district is to get as many protections as possible on this development.”
Bain confirmed with Mirror Indy that he’s basing this opinion on previous decisions the city has made regarding data centers.
In 2025, Google’s proposed data center in Franklin Township was approved by the city’s hearing examiner and the Metropolitan Development Commission despite strong community opposition. Since the land in Franklin Township needed additional zoning exceptions to allow for industrial projects, the proposal went before City-County councilors. The plan was ultimately withdrawn by Google, because the trillion dollar company didn’t have enough support from city-county councilors.
But, Sabey’s proposal is different; the buck stops with the Metropolitan Development Commission instead of councilors.
“This is the system that we have,” Bain said to residents. “It’s not the one that we want to have; it’s the one that we do have. It’s a state law.”
What’s next
The Decatur Township Civic Council’s full board, composed of more than 200 people, is expected to vote on the executive committee’s decision to send the Metropolitan Development Commission a letter of opposition to Sabey’s plan. The meeting is 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, in Decatur Central High School’s cafeteria, 5251 Kentucky Ave.
The city hearing examiner was expected to listen to presentations from Sabey staff and anti-data center neighbors Thursday, Jan. 29, but the meeting was postponed. Now, the proposal in Decatur Township will be discussed at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the City-County building, 200 E. Washington St.
A correction was made to City-County Councilor Josh Baines’ quote on Jan. 21, 2026.
Want to keep up with the Decatur Civic Council? Indy Documenters often cover these meetings. 📝 Read their notes.
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Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.
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